Fishing device.



D. CONEKIN.

FISHING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED lAN.28, 1914.

1,138,541 Patented May 4, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

WITNESSES t INVEHTOR Im /z Q;

mom/Em D. CONEKIN.

FISHING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED mms, 1914.

Patented May 4, 1915.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2 l i I IIWEHTOR 1 By mttzzurfi ATTORNEYS WITNESSESUNITEDSTATES PATENTLOFFIGE.

DAWSON connxm, or sun. PETEBSBURG, FLORIDA.

FISHING DEVICE.

To all whom it may concern Be it kIluWIl that I, DAWSON CONEKIN, acitizen of the United States, and a resident of St. Petersburg,in thecounty of Pinellas and State of Florida, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Fishing Devices, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to a fishing apparatus, and one of the principalobjects thereof is to provide a construction and arrangement of meanswhereby fish may be automatically taken from the water and deposited ina cold storage receptacle, without the necessity of manually handlingthe fish and with a great saving of expense and labor.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device of the classdescribed, which will be simple, durable, efficient in operation andinexpensive to manufacture.

With these and other objects in view, which will become apparent as thedescription proceeds, the invention resides in the construction,combination and arrangement of parts, hereinafter more fully describedand claimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which likecharacters (of reference indicate like parts throughout the severalfigures, of which,

Figure 1 represents a side elevational view of a vessel, partiallyinsection, equipped with the fishing apparatus, Fig. 2 represents a topplan view thereof, .Fig. 3 represents a detail, vertical, longitudinal,sectional view of the prow of the vessel and the apparatus attachedthereto, the net being shown in raised position in dotted lines, Fig. 4represents a vertical, transverse, sectional view, taken on the planeindicated by the line 4-4 of Fig. 3, Fig. 5 represents a detail,horizontal, fragmentary, sectional View, taken on the plane indicated bythe line 5-5 of Fig. 3, and Fig. 6 represents an enlarged verticalsectional view, takenon the plane indicated by the line ,6-6 ofReferring more, particularly to the drawings, the numeral 5 indicatesavessel which may be steam-driven or ropelled in any other suitable.manner, and at 6 is indicated a paifrflofbo'w outriggers which extendforwardof the vessel in fa divergent manner and at their rear endsarebent inwardly as a (see Fig. 5) and extendthrough the .s les of thevesselnearitsbow, and are rotatably supported bymeans of inner and ISpecification of Letters Patent.

adapted to b Patented May 4,

Application filed January 28,1914. Serial no. 814,974.

outer bearing plates 9 through which they extend, which plates areconnected by bolts or other fastening means 10, extending through theplates and through the sides of the vessel.

The inbent portions are prov vided with collars 11 which bear againstthe outer bearing plates, and through? the inner ends of theinbent'portions extend cotter pins or other removable fastening means12, whereby the Outriggers may be removed from their bearings, shouldoccasion arise.

The outriggers support a net 13 which at its longitudinal edges islashed as at 14 to the Outriggers, and the net depends below theOutriggers, and may be attached at its forward end to a substantiallyrigid bow-.

shaped element15, which at its ends is secured to the forward ends ofthe Outriggers, and which serves to maintain the shape of the netagainst the action of waves or 'currents in the water. The net taperstoward its rear end and at thatlend is formed a substantially funnelshaped extensible throat 16 which is adapted to fit onto the forward endof a pipe 17 extending medially of the vessel, and through the'bowbeneaththe water. The pipe, at its forward end isprovided with a flange18 by which it may be secured to the vessel and at its rear end abutsagainst a bulk-head 19 through which an opening 20 is provided inalinement with ipe 17, said opening forming an inlet, to W at may betermed an elevator chamber or compartment 21, formed in the hold ofthevessel, and provided with an inclined' rear wall 22."

Arran ed so that its blades will travel upwardly a ong the rear Wall 22,is a conveyer 23, supported at its lower end on a roller 24 positionedtransversely of compartment 21,

and supported at its up er end on a roller 25, journaled above the eck26 of the vessel.

ward end, isgovidedfiith. a -screen y32,

ockade said opening against so as to allow of the water in compartment21, passing through the screen and through the pipe 29 to the exteriorof the vessel, the rear end of pipe 29 extending through one of thesides 8 of the vessel, said pipe at its rear end provided with flanges33 for providing a water tight joint at the point where the pipe passesthrough the vessel side.

Compartment 21 may, if desired, extend the entire width of the vessel,or it may, as shown, be of a width equal to the width of the conveyor23, in this instance, the side walls ofcompartment 21 being formed by a.pair of partitions 34.

The forward ends of the Outriggers 6 are provided with blocks 35,through which a 'tackle'36 is adapted to play and to the fore mast 37 ofthe vessel is also secured blocks 38 through which the tackle extends,whereby the outriggers may be raisedor lowered, position the net at therequired depth.

The net is normally positioned so that the forward end thereof will bebelow the surface of the water, as indicated, and as the vessel isdriven forward, the fish engaged by the blades 0 nearthe prow, isa tuthe net will be brought upwardly through the throat 16 of the pipe 17,and into the compartment 21, from which they will be earried by theelevator which is driven in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig.3, upwardly along the inclined rear wall 22, and will be dumped overa-second bulkhead 39, into a cold storage chamber or compartment 40 ofwhich the bulk-head forms the front wall, said chamber. being kept at alow degree oftemperature by any suitable means. The fish enter the coldstorage; chamber through an opening 41 in the deck of the vessel,disposed adjacent the upper end of the rear wall 22, and an inclinedbafiie plate 43 is arranged to surround said openin on three sides toinsure'projection of the sh through the opening 41. The

level of the water in com artment 21 will remain constant and theclrculation of the Water through the compartment will be insured byreason of the outlet pipe 29, being placed so that the water enterinthrough the pipe 17 will pass through the ower end of the compartmentand out through the pipe 29, thus creating a current in the compartme'ntwhich would project the fishagainst the lower portion of the inclinedrear wa11'22 in position to be engaged by f the conveyer.

' At the bottom of the net on bow 15 are positioned Yelectric lights 44which will tend to primarily attract the fish, and then to blind them,so that they will not attempt to dodge-the net 13.

Extending verticallywthrough'the vessel 45 rovided at its ends withflanges co'unterinto the deck and the bottom respectively of the voweland a second tube 46 is slidably positioned within the first, and isclosed at its bottom and adapted to project below the bottom ofthevessel. Suspended in the lower end of tube 46 by means of a spider47, is an electric or other suitable light 48 whose rays may bereflected by means of the reflector 49 positioned in the tube, towardthe prow of the vessel through the glass 50. The light is intended to beused primarily, while the vessel is running with the net up and byshining through the water ahead of the vessel, indicates to the look outthe presence of "tioned in tube 45, and is limtied in its downwardmovement by the flange 51. Handles 52 are provided on the inner tube bymeans of which the latter may be raised when desirable, and a pivoteddog 53 is adapted to fit at its free ends in a groove 54 cut in theouter surface of the tube for holding the latter when in raisedposition. A retractable spring 55 normally holds-the dog in contact withthe inner tube, said dogbeing adapted to fit over flangeol when the tubeisin lowered positio v Although I have described the preferredembodiment of my invention, I may desire to make such changes in theconstruction, combination and arrangement of parts, as do not departfrom the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A fishing device including a vessel having a compartment thereinprovided with an inclined rear wall, a fishing net, a pipe communicatingat one end with the net and at the other end with said compartmentwhereby the full volume of water enterin the pipe from the net may bedirected through the compartment against said rear wall, means forlifting fish from the rear wall, a second pipe communicating at one endwith the compartment through an opening in said rear wall and at theother end with the outside of the vessel, and a screen disposed over theopening in said rear wall.

throat into said compartment, 'means for allowing the exit of water fromthe compartment whereby a culgent including the full volume of waterfrom said restricted throat may be established through said compartment,means in the compartment for retarding the passage of fish therethroughwith the current, and means adapted to coact with the retarding meansfor raising fish from the compartment.

3. A fishing device including a vessel havno rent, and means for raisingthe fish. from the compartment.

DAWSON UONEKIN.

Witnesses:

H. B. SMrrz, E. N. HANEFRIED.

